Feds arrest man who allegedly participated in hack of the SEC’s X account, boosting Bitcoin’s price

Federal authorities arrested Eric Council Jr. and indicted him for allegedly performing SIM swaps that enabled co-conspirators to hijack the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account on January 9, 2024, publishing a false Bitcoin ETF approval that briefly spiked Bitcoin prices. The indictment alleges Council created a fake ID, impersonated an FBI agent at an AT&T store to obtain a replacement SIM and phone, used the device to receive an account reset code which he forwarded to co-conspirators, and was paid for SIM swap services; he faces charges including conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.